Turley HAMMERS Saints Organization

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; This guy is starting to remind me of Jose Canseco, only more crass
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ins.../05/open_mike/
Its not a pleasant read fellas. If even part of its true, we are the Bengals of the NFC
[Edited on 5/6/2003 by tweeky]...

Maybe Turley should keep his mouth shut and keep his mind on playing footbal in St. Louis. It seems to me that everyone in the Saints organization did him wrong and he did nothing wrong. Turley, needs to look at himself in the mirror. He is nothing but a big BABY, who wants eerything his way. If I was making the kind of money he made while with the Saints, I would not be complaining about anything.

If things were the way Turley says they are ,I think I would have heard something about this before now. In my book Turley is way overrated and I\'m glad he\'s gone. No love lost here for me. I just wish we played the Rams this year.

While it\'s obvious that Turley\'s rants are personally motivated, I think it\'s high time that fans of this team start looking at reality. Turley is not the first player to blast the Saints for their unprofessionalism and disregard for winning and their players. While Turley over-emphasizes a lot, I\'m sure, that doesn\'t mean that there isn\'t at least some truth to what he\'s saying. Benson is the best owner that the Saints have ever had... but just b/c he\'s the best that\'s ever been in NO, does NOT mean that he is a good NFL owner. He\'s not - and until he stops whining about his pocket book, antes up, and does what it takes to win a Super Bowl, you\'re not going to see muc more out of this organization than what you see right now. Don\'t shoot the messenger guys.

I don\'t think Benson is as bad as some say. I read an article on NFL payroll\'s last year (maybe 2001) and the Saints were middle of the pack. I think they were either 13th or 15th. My memory fades, but I remember being surprised because I was under the impression from our fanbase that he was the \"Anti-Dan-Snyder\"

I once had a friend (life-long LSU fan, lives in Holden) tell me that the Saints administration -doesn\'t- want to win the Big One. Why? Because the Saints get state funding... but ONLY if they\'re under a particular record (8/8, I think he said). If they go better than that, then the state contract doesn\'t give them those millions. I\'ve always wondered if there was anything to it.

Reading an article like that, well, that makes me wonder some more. Sometimes it\'s hard being a fan for this team.

The reality is nether of us know how much truth there is to anything Turley said. As far as what players in the past said about the Saints organization, we don\'t know about the truth there either. Football is a business, and in business, there are always going to be hostilites when parting ways. When you start telling me to look at reality, I would like to know if this is your reality or do you have inside info about the Saints organization. This is the reality I see. Mr. Benson has put together the best Saints team I have ever seen, and for that I applaud Mr. Benson. This isnot a popularity contest. This is a business. Go to any business and ask the employees if they like the owner If they all say yes, I will show you a company that will be going out of business soon. Now, that\'s reality.

Nothing really alarming in that article. After Randy Mueller tried to hijack his organization, Benson looked for someone who knew his place and could take care of the financial side. So he hired Loomis. He may not be the GM with the best football knowledge in the league, but so far he has done a decent job.
Benson wants to make money from the team. He knows he can\'t afford to cut back on player salaries, because this will lead to a non-competitive team. So he tries to rip everybody else off, the state of Louisiana and even his own employees. Not overly nice, however you can\'t accuse him of not trying to win. The Saints are close to the salary cap and gave out some heavy signing bonuses this off-season.
Haslett a two-faced backstabber? He was probably responsible for the contract offer Turley got early in the off-season although Turley was already ripping the organization. His big mouth depleted his value to the Saints.
Glad he\'s gone. Time the season starts so he can find some reasons to be mad at the Rams.

Here we go again. Somehow, just when I think it\'s safe to go back to being a contented fan, someone brings up this situation again. I\'m torn on replying to this thread or just going to bed.

Having worked in the car business for almost 30 years, I almost have to agree with some of the things Turley said. I do not know Mr. Benson personally but I do know some players that used to play for him. As I once said, when he bought the team he had them inventory individual rolls of tape. To me thats cheap. I do know many car dealers personally, and believe me they are cheap and their is no such thing as loyalty to their employees. It\'s all about the money!